State plan services are an entitlement and all beneficiaries who meet the service requirements must be served. Personal care is the most common service covered in residential care settings under the state plan, but New York combines payments for personal care, home health services, including skilled therapies. States that do not already cover personal care through their state plan have been reluctant to add it because it is an entitlement and services must be provided statewide. However, CMS has allowed states to limit the provision of personal care provided under the state plan to specific providers, which may address state concerns about adding an open-ended entitlement to personal care under its state plan. South Carolina, for example, allows only licensed community residential care facilities to provide personal care under the state plan.

On the other hand, services provided under Medicaid waivers are not entitlements and states may limit their provision to particular geographic areas, target groups, and care settings. Additionally, states may limit the number of waiver participants and further reduce this number during state budget cutbacks. States can also use solely state-funded long-term care programs to pay for services in assisted living. However, because they also are not entitlements, these programs are also vulnerable during state budget cutbacks.

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